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The Scarlet Letter (American Classics) Paperback – Illustrated, May 1, 2014

by Sean Connolly (Adapter), Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author), Bri Hermanson (Illustrator)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 6,807 ratings
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Hester Prynne stands defiantly on a scaffold before hostile Puritans in seventeenth-century Boston, Massachusetts. The baby in her arms and the bright scarlet letter ‘A’ on her gown are evidence and punishment for the shame she has brought on her religious neighbors. Will Hester continue to conceal the name of the husband who sent her away from Europe years before as well as that of the father of her baby? Will the husband get his revenge on the man who has shamed him? Will that man admit his past and join Hester and her daughter Pearl? Or is the matter out of their hands, waiting to be decided between the forces of the Lord and of Satan?

Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world’s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.
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  1. Reading age
    Baby - 11 years
  2. Print length
    64 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    Preschool - 2
  5. Lexile measure
    410L
  6. Dimensions
    5.16 x 0.18 x 7.92 inches
  7. Publisher
    Real Reads
  8. Publication date
    May 1, 2014
  9. ISBN-10
    1906230765
  10. ISBN-13
    978-1906230760
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE (1804 –1864) was an American author of novels, short stories and a biography of personal friend and U.S. President Franklin Pierce.



Raised and educated in Massachusetts, SEAN CONNOLLY now lives in Wiltshire, England, where he works as a writer and editor, specializing in children’s books. His best-known titles are The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science (2008, now in its eleventh printing), The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science, and Perfectly Perilous Math (2012).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Real Reads; Illustrated edition (May 1, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 64 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1906230765
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1906230760
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ Baby - 11 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 410L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool - 2
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.16 x 0.18 x 7.92 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 6,807 ratings

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  1. Nathaniel Hawthorne

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

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    Born on the fourth of July in 1804, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the stories that lie at the heart of the American Romantic movement. His portraits of colonial life reflect his Puritan heritage and offer fascinating profiles of individuals who strive for freedom from social conventions.

    Photo by Mathew Brady [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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  2. Cindy Weinstein

    Cindy Weinstein

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    American Renaissance Books

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    American Renaissance is a series of classic books designed and published by ST Book Arts. Visit TorodeDesign.com to see more.

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
6,807 global ratings
Fairly Small Print
5 Stars
Fairly Small Print
Aside from the story, which I always felt to be a tad over-rated, though I love Nathaniel Hawthorne's writing style, this book is quite a good value. The print is rather small (sorry the photo is blurry, but it does show the print size), so I would not recommend it for those who have problems reading smaller prints, I still have to give it five stars, though, because even though there are some relatively small problems, Bantam Classics are such good values, especially for purchasing books that are required readings in school (as well as for leisurely enjoyment) On the brighter side, I do like Hester Prynne's daughter's name.
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Top reviews from the United States

Chad Crabtree
1.0 out of 5 stars NOT THE NORTON EDITION! IT'S A FAKE!
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2016
THIS IS NOT THE NORTON CRITICAL EDITION! IT IS A CREATESPACE CUT-AND-PASTE JOB MADE TO LOOK LIKE ONE! DON'T BE FOOLED!
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Love to Cycle
5.0 out of 5 stars Impossible Language Made Easier by Audio
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2024
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So glad I listened to the audio book before trying to read this 1850 book. It's like Shakespeare, I guess you had to live at that time to understand the meaning of the expressions. Check out comments on Good Reads for more opinions about the readability. The audio's book reader and accent is excellent in presenting difficult or strange manners of expression.
One person found this helpful
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Michelle Baker
5.0 out of 5 stars the scarlet letter
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2024
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Interesting reading. I never read this as a youth but understand it much better today. Mystery and intrigue throughout the novel is proven to relate a sad tale.
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Vicky Peplow
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read!
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024
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This classic by Nathaniel Hawthorne was a good read, however I found a lot of the sentences were quite long and I forgot what the sentence was at the beginning and found myself having to read parts more than once which is a shame.
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5.0 out of 5 stars The scarlet letter
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024
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Excellent book to read! Enjoying the interesting outlook and feeling a human comroddery. Try it and take your time in this read.
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Tricia Love
5.0 out of 5 stars This is when I fell in love with Nathaniel.......
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2007
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Just look at a portrait of him as a young man, note the noble brow, the handsome features, the sensitivity, how romantic......... Curl up with this book and let Nathaniel tell you his tale in his beautiful poetic language . This is a book to be read quietly, alone, not in an airport lounge or on the subway, but preferably in a beautiful garden or sunroom with the windows open. Let the beauty of his language flow over you and transport you back in time.

It is over 200 years since Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem Massachusetts, his great great grandfather officiated at the Salem Witch Trials. He was both disturbed and intrigued by his ancestry. One day when working at The Custom House in Salem to make ends meet as a struggling young author, he discovered in one of the upstairs rooms some dusty old boxes, on opening them he found them to contain relics from the past, long since forgotten. Yellowing documents and an intriguing piece of embroidery, a scrap of faded and torn material with the letter A embroidered on it. He picked it up, and while wondering what it was, he held it up to his chest, and at that moment he claims to have felt a burning sensation which caused him to drop the piece of cloth. It gave him inspiration for this story along with documents he found about a woman called Hester Prynne.

The scene he sets so vividly is somewhere around 350 years ago 150 years before he was born. In a time when behavior to which we can hardly be bothered to raise an eyebrow was in that day considered a punishable sin. A disgrace for life. Branded by having to wear a scarlet letter on the chest for all to see.

It is a feminist novel, (Nathaniel Hawthorne supported women's rights). Briefly, the protagonist Hester Prynne has a child from an adulterous relationship and refuses to name the father. Her husband a physician much older than she has never been a "proper" husband to her so she had looked elsewhere for love. The husband vows to find the father of the child, and in exchange for her freedom makes Hester swear she will never disclose who her husband is. Her husband being a physician quickly deduces who the father is from the way he is wasting away under his burden of guilt. He sets about a long period of torment of the young man of which Hester is aware but can say nothing because of her promise. Finally she has had enough and decides to come clean, shaming the devil, (her husband) and redeeming the young man. I do not want to spoil anything by divulging the name of the father of the child in case you do not know.

This is such a simple and brief account it would make Nathaniel wince to read it. There is so much more to the story. It states in the blurb that it is a psychological novel before there was a science called psychology. The way the characters in the story interact with each other, the symbolism, the different values of the day from Nathaniel's day, and then again to this day. The religious aspect in Puritan times, the emotional ups and downs as you empathize with first one and then another of the characters. It is a wonderful story and well deserving of its position as one of America's great classics.
30 people found this helpful
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Farah
3.0 out of 5 stars long winded
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2024
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Good story but too many unnecessary details. The sentences were so long that you’d forget what the sentence was actually about.
One person found this helpful
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Ron Coia
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Written Story about Public vs Private Shame
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2011
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I put my goal to read Moby Dick on hold in order to read The Scarlet Letter as I prepare to teach it with my AP Language & Composition class. As Hawthorne and Melville were friends, I didn't think that Melville would mind.

While I read and taught The Scarlet Letter before, I never had the appreciation for it as I did in this reading. I was captivated by the story, but the language and style of its writing was preeminent for me. Hawthorne crafts a beautifully written story that tells the familiar tale of Hester Prynne's public shame and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale's private tormented guilt after an adulterous affair set in the backdrop of Puritan Boston. The story is simple, as Hester faces a judgmental crowd in the town, and Dimmesdale suffers from a burning conscience as he does not admit to his sin. One man, Roger Chillingworth--Hester's husband--knows the secret and is bent on revenge against them both.

While The Scarlet Letter is often used to criticize and demonize the Puritan era, it rather shows the importance of what the consequences of sin lead to within our hearts. The public consequences are temporary, but the private consequences are far longer reaching as the "Hound of Heaven" chases after us to confess and repent. While Hawthorne does not condemn adultery as a sin, we see the destruction causes by infidelity with the Prynne family. Hester Prynne is indeed a model of feminine strength and virtue in accepting responsibility and guilt, but she also provides us a picture of the results of our sin and the need for redemption in a Savior.

The book begins with this excellent line, showing the coldness of the scene and the tone of the entire novel:

A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes.

In our first picture of Hester, Hawthorne contrasts the ugliness of sin with the beauty of the woman:
On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore; and which was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony.

If you are looking to read novels that you should have read in high school but didn't, I heartily recommend starting with this one.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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rothkehlchen
5.0 out of 5 stars The letter A, like adultery, to be worn in public by a woman
Reviewed in Germany on December 13, 2023
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Many (and old-fashioned) words for a short message. I got easily through reading this book by listening to it (audiobook). How about marking a sinner as such? What consequences has it for a person to wear...a scarlet letter, or a yellow star or some other mark? The message this story transports is timeless. In fact, we are all sinners, but it is always easier to mark one as a "scapegoat". The only right answer to such doing is what Jesus says in John 8 vers 7: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."
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Luisa Cisterna
5.0 out of 5 stars This novel is perfect
Reviewed in Canada on May 17, 2021
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I just love The Scarlet Letter! An immortal protagonist. Great lessons on the danger of self-righteousness, and how grace is what we all crave.
One person found this helpful
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Ann hofmans
1.0 out of 5 stars artikel nooit ontvangen
Reviewed in Belgium on October 30, 2023
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verkoper reageert op geen enkel bericht - deze verkoper te mijden
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Miss Informed
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 18, 2023
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Modern readers may find the verbal eloquence of writers from this period trying. Like Irving, Hawthorne delighted in such loquaciousness, but even if it doesn't work for you, the story, primarily about appearances, is still pertinent and worth reading.
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Carmen M.
5.0 out of 5 stars 👍
Reviewed in Italy on July 3, 2022
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👍Tutto ok
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